Welcome to The Cave of Dragonflies forums, where the smallest bugs live alongside the strongest dragons.

Guests are not able to post messages or even read certain areas of the forums. Now, that's boring, don't you think? Registration, on the other hand, is simple, completely free of charge, and does not require you to give out any personal information at all. As soon as you register, you can take part in some of the happy fun things at the forums such as posting messages, voting in polls, sending private messages to people and being told that this is where we drink tea and eat cod.

Of course I'm not forcing you to do anything if you don't want to, but seriously, what have you got to lose? Five seconds of your life?

Battle on the ASB forum. Make sure not to accidentally step on a link or something.

Arena status: Unchanged.

-----

It'd been so very long.

After years in the waiting, two people could once more become trainers, and a third person was again a referee. The reading of rules, the sensation of the Pokéballs in hand -- everything sparked a rush of nostalgia, and it helped little that the combatants would literally engage right near the entire dataform of those memories. But without too much ado, Pokémon were sent out. hopeandjoy's Pokémon was fresh new from the recently established Kalos trade, a happy fluttering Flabébé of ultramarine petals. Totodile's sendout was a more traditional one. A Ralts, like many others in the league, and also one that had actually been in a fight once (or at least, somehow remembers being in one). And so, a match began on the fresh new ASB -- in more than one sense.

Morgan immediately sauntered over to her opponent, who was quick to raise his guard but still saw no attacks coming -- only sweet nothings whispered in his ears (where are they?). Flustered by the sudden rush of unexpected emotions, Ganymede felt little inclination to focus on the battle, but had gladly not been commanded to attack or anything. Instead, hoping to impress his opponent, he unleashed a pulse of raw lifeforce into the layout below himself, which soon gained the shape of a Minimal Dewgong Ralts. Clearly, somebody needs to figure out where the styleswitcher is; in fact, it would have been impossible to tell Substitute and creator apart were it not for the Substitute's head being covered not by a green plate but rather by one with a header drawn on it.

hopeandjoy's Pokémon gave her foe one more look, and then started to attack, somewhat. She approached and began furiously shaking her blue flower, scattering poisonous pollen in the air. Before any of it could reach its intended target, however, the pure white lifeform took all of the powder upon itself -- and breathed none of it, as it had no need of breath. The Toxic attack had been fully wasted, and worse, it left Ganymede with a sensation that his work was being rejected by his beloved.

For a moment, the apparent rejection made it easier to attack. With the power of his mind, Ganymede hefted his opponent well into the cybernetic air, and then used her as a berserk touchpad, highlighting text here and clicking links there as she was slammed into every surface available. By the time the attack had stopped, they were in the thread for their own battle, which is mind-breakingly meta. However, as the reffing was not yet up, none could sneak a peek into the next procceedings of battle.

When the time came for Morgan to attack again, she had trouble remembering what she'd been commanded to do. She even tried peeking at her trainer's post, but it read something about "Signal Beam", which the Flabébé could not recognize. Puzzled, she continued rereading the post for a clarification, but nothing of the sort seemed to be there.

Ganymede prepared to attack again, but seeing no further ill will from his opponent -- and rather, only what his wishful mind could read as a wistful, pensive expression that one could take on when thinking of a loved one -- he became inclined to believe in the truth of his enemy's love, and could not continue to attack. Instead, he sat around, admiring her looks from afar.

Kay Ganymede, let's be real. You need to get her to notice you. What better way to do that than by Snatching Morgan's Double Team?

"But Totodile," you say, "won't that be counterproductive?" Certainly not. If she's Double Teaming, she's making it harder for you to focus your attention on her. I mean, she's hiding within herselves! Doesn't make sense? You're too in love, buddy. Deal with it. And take some time to cool your head with a couple Calm Minds while you're at it.

If you're feeling too lovey-dovey for any of that, though, then be productive with it. Draining Kiss is how that'll go.

Battle on the ASB forum. Make sure not to accidentally step on a link or something.

Arena status: Unchanged.

-----

The trainers issue their commands, but nothing happens to the thread they're stnading on, despite what they were expecting. However, someone trips over the Refresh button, and everything goes white for a few seconds -- and then, there lay the commands. A little bit of physical veto was necessary to stop the Pokémon from reading their opponent's commands, and with that restriction, the battle commenced anew.

Ganymede started readying an attack, but gazed upon his opponent again and was overcome by a fresh rush of feelings. It was more overpowering than he could take, and left him unable to do anything more than sit around and admire the Double Team fluttering sprint -- no mood for stealing, be it a move or a kiss.

After splitting her image into four, Morgan concentrated on the Minimal Dewralts. Fortunately, its master was mentally far away, so she had more or less free reign to attack unnoticed. In order to do so, she used her natural powers in a slightly different way, taking from the environment loose bits of data that turned into throwing star-like apparitions shaped as angular, green zeroes and ones. A swarm of them pettled the Subtitute, leaving cyberspacial gashes on its surface.

The real Ralts was still completely unfocused on the battle, but by that point, it was because he had retired to meditate. The extent of his emotions had begun to worry him, and extended meditation helped to clear the mind.

While he cleared the mind, however, his foe continued to attack. This time, she tried to summon the raw natural power of the world around her, but there was no such a thing -- the only greenery around her was the abitrarily green-tinted cyber stuff. With some struggle, she managed to fashion an inferior Energy Ball out of pure data, and with plenty of luck, it landed just at the right spot to completely dismantle the Substitute, causing it to burst in a puddle of white pixels that were quickly reabsorbed by the surface below.

Paying no heed to this situation, Ganymede continued well collected in the confines of his thoughts, and little by little, the calm comfort of nirvana seemed much better than some inflamed passion. With a conscious push, he hoped to steadily eliminate the desire from his psyche...

Additional notes:
- The attractionfail roll in the first round was failed miserably.
- However, the roll on the third action was perfectly positive, and coupled with the use of Calm Mind, I've had it drop the attraction down in severity (from Moderate, which it had gotten to earlier).
- Nature Power summoned Swift, and also, the Nature Power move summon table desperately needs renovations.
- Energy Ball on the third action was a critical hit and broke Ganymede's Substitute (and wouldn't actually have done it without the hax, too).
- Totodile commands first next round.

__________________

#cometobabahl
(click colias -- you know you want to -- for asb profile)

Battle on the ASB forum. Make sure not to accidentally step on a link or something.

Arena status: The thread hopeandjoy vs. Totodile is open.

-----

The battle started anew, and as the thread lenghtened, so the links to escape from it seemed to become distant...

But hopeandjoy and Morgan had a slightly different plan. They rushed to press some links, taking advantage of the opponent's continued spell of distraction, and reached Zhorken's profile, leaving a visitor message like "yo, hack dis up and boots up ma HP". Touch-typing the ground, as it turns out, is immensely awkward. While waiting for a response, there was little more to do than take five. In the meantime, Ganymede even managed to attack, his magical power firing star-shaped beams in all directions and taking out the Flabébé's every clone while also striking the real deal. The need for aid grew greater.

Finally, there was a response. It read: "k, but don't test me, or else I'm turning you into a Diggersby". As soon as she read the message, Morgan felt a strange, sharp sensation as her wounds faded and her body grew more tired.

Even as the healing process was finished, Ganymede still didn't seem to have snapped out of his romantic doldrums. One last opportunity to move in impunity -- Morgan took it, searing her foe's eyes with a blinding magical light. Maybe that would teach him about where her eyes are.

Additional notes:
- Ganymede was too attracted to attack in actions one and three, despite the now somewhat low odds of that happening.
- Wish took place at the end of the second action.
- Totodile commands first next round.

__________________

#cometobabahl
(click colias -- you know you want to -- for asb profile)

Ganymede what. Okay, two can play at this game. Try to Attract her, but if she Protects, Safeguards, or has a Substitute, you should take that as a sign to rethink things by Calming your mind. Next, use Psychic if she's not attracted, but Draining Kiss if she is. If you can't bear to do that, just Chill.

Battle on the ASB forum. Make sure not to accidentally step on a link or something.

Arena status: A VM conversation with Zhorken is open.

-----

Battle resumed, and Ganymede's stupor seemed unshakeable. He hadn't stoped gazing longingly at his enemy since the previous round, and even a blast to eye did little to stop the stare-fiesta.

Unfettered by the battle at that point, Morgan started to craft a masterpiece. A with a few accidental clicks, she lifted the Dewgong from the banner, then gave it shape and life. And once animate, it began to air-swim in circles around its master.

Perhaps the mistake was that the construct provided something that Ganymede could battle against without hurt something that he still aesthetically appreciated. Once again, he let his psychic powers unfurl, picking up and tossing the modeled dugong with his mind as if it were a ragdoll. Links accidentally clicked here and there, he ended up back in the beginning, in the ASB forums, before he finally finished off the Substitute with a final psychic pulse that tore it apart and burst it to pieces magnificently.

Having seen that spectacular scene, Morgan took the cue to start to attack. She had taken the opportunity for another breather, but after the coast was clear, she approached the foe and started spinning around herself, unleashing a flurry of blue petals that formed a raging whirlwind with the momentum.

After the powerful attack, Ganymede was looking at his foe again, but it was a different look -- he finally seemed determined to actually do battle with her. He flashed a smile, and his head started distorting the space around him, just before the round finished. It seemed as though meant to be a display...

Arena status: The browser is back on the ASB forums proper, and it is covered in blue petals.

Additional notes:
- Ganmyede failed the attract check hardcore in the first action; however, after the third action, he snapped out of the attraction.
- The second Psychic on the third action destroyed Morgan's Substitute.
- hopeandjoy commands first next round.

__________________

#cometobabahl
(click colias -- you know you want to -- for asb profile)

Alright Morgan! First, let's lower Ganymede's Special Attack with Captivate. Then let's attack in the second and third actions with Seed Bomb. If Ganymede Subsitutes on the first action or Protects on any action, use Calm Mind. If Ganymede tries to status you, use Magic Coat.

Battle on the ASB forum. Make sure not to accidentally step on a link or something.

Arena status: The browser is back on the ASB forums proper, and it is covered in blue petals.

-----

Morgan and Ganymede locked gazes with each other as they prepared to battle full-on. A new round began, and it's be one of many direct attacks.

But before any of those, hopeandjoy's Pokémon readied a little bit more of trickery. Figuring her lecherous opponent might still be enticed into another stare, she decided to show off her charm points... But the enemy was cloaked in a mirror-like spell, and the Flabébé couldn't help but see herself on it, and become a little distracted by her own cuteness.

The Ralts took that break as a good opportunity to strike. He started again on the attack he'd been using continuously in the battle, doing some heavy-lifting (on a lightweight target) with his mind. The petals on the ground stirred and bounced with each impact.

In response to the mighty, undeterred blow, Morgan started to strike back. She floated above her foe, then produced a large quantity of seeds from inside her flower, which she then procceeded to carpet-bomb the mark with, as each one that dropped would burst on impact.

For the remained of the round, the two battling Pokémon used much of the same attacks... And with all striking the arena every bit as much as their inteded targets, they were starting to cause some mighty wreckage.